MILITARY OFFICERS CALL Sun City Center Chapter · MILITARY OFFICERS CALL Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America P. O. Box 5693, Sun City Center, FL. 33571

MILITARY OFFICERS CALL

Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America

P O Box 5693 Sun City Center FL 33571

Volume 34 Number 5 MAY 2019

Presidentrsquos Message Benny Blackshire LTC USA (Ret

Greetings First I want to thank everyone for your support of our local chapter I thank those that are faithful attendees at the luncheonmeetings and those that have continued their membership even though they can no longer attend the functions It takes all of us to keep our chapter strong Second I thank all of you that signed up to be a flag bearer or usher for the upcoming Memorial Day ceremony to be held at the Kingrsquos Point Veterans Theater on May 27 2019 at 1000 am This is an impressive ceremony and one that you should really attend if possible At the April luncheon I reported that MOAA National would ldquoStorm the Hillrdquo on April 10th This was a very im-portant event as they were lobbying for 3 items in con-gress this year (1) the FY 2020 military pay raise that af-fects active duty and retired personnel (2) ending the ldquowidowsrdquo tax imposed on military survivors who have SBP and the spouse died from service related causes (SBP-DIC Offset) and (3) stabilizing TRICARE fees and co-payments In the April issue of the MOAA magazine there were post cards for you to send to your congressmen It is very important that you tear those out sign them and mail them to the congressmen When they start receiving thou-sands of our cards it really makes a difference Remem-ber MOAA is the largest and most visible advocacy group for the military in Washington In closing I want to remind you once more about the MOAA Florida Annual Convention to be held June 20-23 at the Safety Harbor Resort amp Spa in Tampa If you want to attend you can register online at the Councilrsquos website moaaflorg and click on the convention I believe the deadline for registration is May 1 2019 I would love to see you at the convention

Dr Susan MacManus

Dr Susan MacManus will be the featured speaker at the Mili-tary Officers Association of Ameri-ca (MOAA) monthly meeting on May 1st at 1100 MacManus received her masterrsquos degree from the University of Michigan (1969) and her undergraduate (1968) and PhD (1975) degrees

from Florida State University Born in Tampa she is a na-tive of Pasco County She is nationally renowned for her expert and incisive commentary on public opinion and intergenerational poli-tics and has appeared on ABC NBC CBS FOX CNN Fox News Channel MSNBC PBS BBC NHK (Tokyo) Australian Television C-SPAN National Public Radio and in various print media She has also served as the political analyst for WFLA News Channel 8 the Florida News Channel and WFLA News Radio Currently she is the political analyst for ABC Action News in Tampa Fl Dr MacManus is a Fulbright research scholar and has written numerous books She co-authored with mentor Thomas R Dye Politics in States and Communities 11th ed (Prentice-Hall 2003) which is the nationrsquos leading textbook on state and local politics She has just recently released a new book entitled ldquoFlorida Minority Trail Blazerrdquo that took her ten years to complete

May SPEAKER

$1500 MAY LUNCHEON $1500

diams(813) 642-0497diams

Salad BarCondiments amp Fresh Fruit with Assorted Dressings

Beef Fajitas Chicken Fajitas

Maji Maji with Mango Salsa

Dessert Bar Chefrsquos selected desserts Beverages Decaf Coffee Iced Tea and Ice Water

Tina Patch addresses MOAA on CBD products Tina Patch creator of a company called MJ Natural Resources was the featured speaker at the April 3rd Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) luncheon held in the Florida Room at the North Side Atrium Tina has a background in Accounting HR IT Energy and Business Management She has a BAS degree in Management amp Organizational Leadership Tina is cur-rently in an MBA program at ENMU She is also a regis-tered tax preparer and Quick Books trainer Originally from New York Tina resides in the Tampa Bay area - which she loves During her time at her corporate job it became clear that a beloved family member was abusing Opioid pills- which subsequently led to Heroin use Having strug-gled through the anger disappointment and then fear - Tina went on a mission to find the help that this family member needed After it became apparent that there were few resources for optimal treatment Tina wanted to tackle that issue head on Then The CATE Founda-tion was created Tina is dedicated to the mission of - better treatment can mean a better outcome She is also a champion to those who truly want to overcome this horrible epidem-ic She is known as a problem solver in her career and she anticipates the challenge that lies ahead MJ Natu-ral Resources which educates and sells THC free me-dicinal hemp derived CBD products ldquoOur mission is to keep our price to consumers low but our quality high We believe in EDUCATING our consumers NOT just selling a product Her presentation was very educational regarding CBD products their derivation and what to look for from the manufacturers when anticipating purchasing them She stressed that their products are totally free of THS the ingredient that provides the mari-juana ldquohighrdquo

2

MEMBERSHIP CORNER

The Membership Committee Chair is providing the following to update the Chapter membership regarding our Chapter LOE amp MOAA rewards Also this article will list new Chapter mem-bers mdash 193 Chapter members mdash 129 LIFE members mdash 27 PREMIUM members mdash 15 BASIC members mdash 22 non-MOAA members New Chapter member(s) last month CPT Lloyd Grable USA (Fr) Mrs Harriet Jordan (Auxillary) COL Eunice Patxot USA (Ret) REMINDER The Chapter reimburses $100 to members up-grading to LIFE when LIFE certificate is presented to the Treasurer

MOAA ACTION SITE

I have created this box to direct members to the

online MOAA lsquoTake Actionrsquo site in order to assist

MOAA in achieving their legislative goals

Click here and select the issue(s) you would like to

have MOAA discuss with your representatives

Fill in the form and click submit MOAA will send

it to your representatives You can add your own

comments if you wish

APRIL 2019 LUNCHEON

Tina Patch

Tina PatchmdashBenny Blackshire

Chapter Officers PRESIDENT LTC Benny Blackshire USA (Ret)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip260-3105 bwblacksaolcom 1st VP MAJ James Haney USMC (Ret)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip220-8758 jhhaney1gmailcom Membership Chairman 2nd VP CDR Cliff Korn USNR (Ret)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 532-0913 cliffkornhousenet SECRETARY LTC Ed Mooney USA (Ret)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip751-6844 edmllcyahoocom ASSISTANT SECRETARY Lt Col Ferris Garrett USAF (Ret)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip841-0532 garrett4tampabayrrcom TREASURER 1st Lt Bob Cochran USA (Fmr)helliphelliphelliphelliphellip677-2606 boblo15msncom ASSISTANT TREASURER D Kay Benson (Aux)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 938-3030 mamby45hotmailcom DIRECTOR LT Dave Floyd USN (Fmr) helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip334-7797 DavidFloyd2012yahoocom DIRECTOR Doris Glass (Aux)helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip642-0497 Luncheon Reservation Coordinator dobygljunocom DIRECTOR CAPT Frank Kepley USN (Ret) helliphelliphellip helliphellip642-0801 Public Affairs Officer Legislative Affairs PublisherEditor Officers Call Newsletter dkepleytampabayrrcom DIRECTOR Jane Foppe (Aux) helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip541-2618 ljcfoppeaolcom Surviving Spouse Liaison PAST PRESIDENT LTC Charles Conover USA (Ret)helliphelliphellip260-3257 charlierconovergmailcom PERSONNEL OFFICER CDR Ed Socha USN (Ret) helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip 634-4957 Personnel Affairs Proofreader (newsletter) ejsfalcon1frontiercom JROTC Coordinator Lt Col James Warchol USAF (Ret)helliphelliphelliphellip633-1063 wjammer39gmailcom CHAPLAIN Assistant Personal Affairs Lt Col Samuel Rorer USAF (Ret)helliphelliphelliphellip 260-3882 srorerhotmailcom

3

David J Gauthier

Certified Public AccountantmdashSun City Accounting

Sun City Center Florida 33573

(813) 634-9500 (813)642-8112-Fax

Income Tax Preparation

Corporate and Business Taxes

Accounting and Bookkeeping

Financial and Investment Planning

Planning for Freedom Plaza Entrance Fees

4

SUN CITY CENTER 1653 Sun City Center Plaza Sun City Center FL 33573

P 813-633-7333 F 813-633-61-20

SARASOTA 6371 Business Boulevard

Suite 200 Sarasota Florida 31-21-0

P 800-330-4248 tpayantpayantwealthmanagementgroupcom WWWPAYANTWEALTHMANAGEMENTGROUPCOM

Securities and Insurance Services offered through SagePoint Financial Inc Member FINRASIPC Investment Advisory Services offered through Payant Wealth Management

Group a registered investment advisor not affiliated with SagePoint Financial Inc

Herersquos why the Union Jack is back The resurgent ldquogreat power competi-tionrdquo at sea now officially trumps the Global War on Terror mdash at least on US Navy ships Starting with morning colors on June 4

the Navy will return to flying the ldquoUnion Jackrdquo a small blue flag em-blazoned with the stars of the 50 states mdash identical to the top left corner of the national ensign mdash from their jackstaffs small flag-poles mounted on the bows of all Navy vessels when in port or at anchor Announced in NavAdmin message 03919 and a Navy press release the policy change returns the ldquoFirst Navy Jackrdquo mdash and its ldquoDonrsquot Tread on Merdquo rattlesnake slithering across thirteen red and white stripes mdash to its former role of signifying the oldest commis-sioned warship in the operational fleet It currently flies from all Navy jackstaffs ldquoThe Union Jack is deeply connected to our heritage and our rise as a global nation with a global Navyrdquo said Chief of Naval Opera-tions Adm John Richardson in his released statement ldquoThe Navy is a symbol that projects American values to the world Just as the Navy embodies the values and principles that we hold dear our very appearance in port and at anchor communicates important messagesrdquo The US Navyrsquos Union Jack shouldnrsquot be confused with the Unit-ed Kingdomrsquos national flag of the same name

A Seabee on Iwo Jima The men who drove cranes and cats also served By Jack Cornwell World War II Magazine

I found this article Seabees on Iwo Jima very interesting reading

Bill would expand American Legion membership eligibility to more veterans

Sen Kyrsten Sinema has filed a bill that could expand eligibility for American Le-gion membership to all veterans who served since World War II The Legion Act co-sponsored by Re-publican Sen Thom Tillis of North Carolina and filed last Friday would expand Legion

membership to include honorably discharged veterans who served during unrecognized times of war since World War II Laird says Enewetak veterans also have trouble access-ing treatment ldquoWersquove been battling (Veterans Affairs) for recognition and compensation for our health issues and cancers due to our service cleaning up after 43 nuclear bomb blasts mdash to no avail so farrdquo Laird said John Raughter deputy director of the national American Legion headquarters said the veterans organization has identified 1600 service members killed or wounded since World War II during times not officially recognized as peri-ods of war Editorrsquos note This would seem to be a lsquono brainerrsquo

CDC reports high flu vaccine efficacy low flu severity this season The flu vaccine yielded 47 overall efficacy among all age groups this season and 61 overall efficacy among youths ages 6 months to 17 years as well as 46 efficacy against the dominant strain compared with 25 efficacy of last years vaccine against the dominant strain of the sea-son CDC researchers have reported

PublisherEditor

CAPT Frank Kepley USN (Ret)

We need your input about member activities associ-ated with MOAA and articles of interest to the mili-tary community Contact Frank at dkepleytampabayrrcom 813-642-0801

MOAA 5 Star

Newsletter Communication

Award 2015 mdash 2017

Sun City Center MOAA Website

Donrsquot forget to visit our new website The link to the

website is httpmoaaflorgchaptersSunCity You

will find much membership information photos cal-

endar of events past newsletters and more If you

would like to suggest topics for inclusion contact Jim

Haney at jhhaney1gmailcom

5

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

Frank Kepley CAPT USN (Ret)

New VA health care rules Trump overreach or more choice for vets By Leo Shane III

The fight over privatizing Veterans Affairs health care is about to escalate Department officials released their first public draft of new rules regarding which veterans will be eligible for pri-vate-sector medical appointments cov-ered by taxpayer funds The rules

amount to a massive expansion of those outside care op-tions potentially adding more than 1 million more patients to community care programs Almost immediately critics attacked the plan as an over-reach by President Donald Trumprsquos administration to shift patients and funding from the federal veterans medical sys-tem to the private sector in an attempt to undermine gov-ernment backed health care House Veteransrsquo Affairs Com-mittee Chairman Mark Takano D-Calif has promised a public hearing on the issue in coming weeks ldquoRather than working to find an equilibrium within the sys-tem by building up VArsquos ability to deliver high quality care hellip todayrsquos announcement places VA on a pathway to privat-ization and leads Congress to assume the worstrdquo he said in a statement after the rules release But VA officials are calling those reactions nothing more than hyperbolic partisanship and they said the new rules are designed to give veterans more options not undermine the existing system They also insist that the changes wonrsquot significantly alter how the majority of veterans in America get their care since many are satisfied with their current care plans The small percentage who arenrsquot will now enjoy more choices with the government picking up the bill For primary care and mental health medical appoint-ments the department is proposing a 30-minute average drive time standard and a wait-time standard at closer VA facilities of 20 days For specialty care the drive-time stand-ard would increase to 60 minutes and the wait-time stand-ard would increase to 28 days ldquoMy concern is if (the standards) are too broad itrsquos going to hollow out the VA and wersquore not going to be able to foot the billrdquo said Senate Veteransrsquo Affairs Committee ranking

member Jon Tester D-Mont Read full article Editorrsquos Note There will be a major battle over this mdashahemmdashrather robust plan I have created a link to the de-tails of the plan above

Vets groups recommend VA budget increase to handle expansion of private care As the Department of Veterans Affairs works toward ex-panding its use of private-sector doctors three veterans groups proposed that the White House and Congress ap-

prove a budget for private care in 2020 thatrsquos nearly double what was appropriated for 2019 The Veterans of Foreign Wars Disabled American Veter-ans and Paralyzed Veterans of America suggested a com-munity care budget of more than $18 billion ndash up from the $94 billion appropriated for fiscal year 2019 which ends Sept 30 Without an increase in funding the groups are concerned money for private care could be stripped from the VA health care system The VA Mission Act a law that expands veteransrsquo access to private doctors is set to go into effect in June The veter-ans groups warned that the Mission Act ldquohas created a fi-nancial obligation that absent sufficient resources to fully and faithfully enact this legislation could erode efforts to reform and modernize the VA health care systemrdquo Editorrsquos note I admit to beating this subject to death but privatizing the VA seems to be the current administrationrsquos inclination All of the recommendations being proposed by the politicians if established are going to increase privati-zation and place the VA in a financially untenable position See previous article and next article

VA Now Has Shorter Wait Times Than Private Clinics AMA Study Claims

Wait times at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics have gone down signifi-cantly from recent years and are now shorter on average than those in private-sector health care at least in big cit-ies according to a new study

from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) In a statement VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the JAMA report published Jan 18 showed that the VA has made a concerted transparent effort to improve access to care since 2014 when wait-times scandals and doctored records led to the resignation of former VA Secretary and retired Army Gen Eric Shinseki This study affirms that VA has made notable progress in improving access in primary care and other key specialty care areas Wilkie said The cross-sectional JAMA study of wait-time data from VA facilities and private-sector hospitals focused on primary care dermatology cardiology and orthopedics in 15 major metropolitan areas The findings were that there was no statistically signifi-cant difference between private sector and VA mean wait times in 2014 and in 2017 mean wait times were statisti-cally significantly shorter for the VA the JAMA report said In 2014 the average wait time in VA hospitals was 225 days compared with 187 in the private sector the study said but in 2017 mean wait time at VA hospitals had gone down to 177 days while rising to 298 for private practitioners The overall conclusion of the report was that access to care within VA facilities appears to have improved between 2014 and 2017 and appears to have surpassed access in the private sector for 3 of the 4 specialties evaluated with the exception of orthopedics Editorrsquos note So why the rush to privatization Makes one wonder about possible personal agendas

6

New VA rules on access to outside care leave many unknowns

The number of veterans eligible for health care services in their communi-ties using networks of private-sector providers contracted by the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs is expected to jump this summer when regulations

setting new access standards for community care become final

Veteran service organizations and congressional commit-tees with oversight responsibilities for VA contend that the barebone details released last week raise many more questions than they answer

Top among them are whether VA will have the budget dollars the complex procedures and the enhanced admin-istrative tools in place to avoid the kind of calamitous launch that scarred the Choice program from its inception in late 2014

On Jan 31 VA published proposed rules on what is sure to be one the most popular new benefits authorized by the Mission Act veteransrsquo access to designated civilian-run urgent care clinics without prior approval from VA

Veterans enrolled in VA health care and needing treat-ment for a sore throat a sprained ankle or some other epi-sodic or temporary health need will be able to walk into participating urgent-care clinics rather than visit VA emer-gency care clinics or hospitals or schedule an appointment with their primary-care provider

The first three urgent-care visits in a calendar year will be free to veterans with disabilities or other circumstances that place them in Priority Groups 1 through 5 for accessing VA health care Certain enrolled veterans in Group 6 and all veterans falling into Groups 7 and 8 will be charged a co-pay of $30 for each visit

To discourage overuse of urgent care the $30 copay-ment will be charged any veteran after their third walk-in visit to include those with service-connected disabilities That detail will be challenged by some veteran service or-ganizations

The urgent-care regulation emphasizes that the new ben-efit is not to be used by veterans needing treatment for chronic conditions which should continue to be managed through their primary-care providers

Key questions to which DAV needs answers said Reese are whether the access rules are fully funded are realistic and feasible to implement One great unknown he said is whether VA-funded community provider networks will be sufficiently staffed to deliver faster more convenient and quality care to veterans

The VA Is Paying for a Top Officialrsquos Cross-Country Commute

The US Department of Veterans Af-fairs paid $13000 over a three-month period for a senior officialrsquos biweekly commute to Washington from his home in California according to expense re-ports obtained by ProPublica

The official Darin Selnick is a senior adviser to VA Sec-retary Robert Wilkie and has played a key role in develop-

ing the administrationrsquos controversial new rules on referring veterans to private doctors The proposal announced last month has drawn opposition from some lawmakers and veterans groups

Selnick has had extensive contact with the Mar-a-Lago trio Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter West Palm Beach physician Bruce Moskowitz and lawyer Marc Sherman In emails obtained by ProPublica last year Selnick said he valued Moskowitzrsquos input more than the views of VA experts

Selnick is a prominent critic of the VArsquos government-run health system In between his time in government he has worked for Concerned Veterans for America a political group funded by conservative billionaires Charles and Da-vid Koch that has advocated for expanding private care for veterans In 2016 Selnick signed onto a report that called the VA ldquoseriously brokenrdquo with ldquono efficient path to repair itrdquo and proposed shifting all veterans to the private sector

ldquoDarin Selnick should not be diverting money from the VA to fund his bicoastal crusade to privatize and destroy the VArdquo J David Cox Sr national president of the American Federation of Government Employees the union repre-senting VA staff said in a statement ldquoItrsquos time for Mr Selnick to come clean about his shadowy ties to unelected Trump advisers who are trying to dismantle the VA

Last year while working in the White House Selnick ne-gotiated with lawmakers on legislation to overhaul the VArsquos programs for referring veterans to private doctors Selnick pushed for the VA to establish rules known as access standards that would automatically make some veterans eligible for private care

The access standards (see previous article) that the VA proposed last month are poised to dramatically expand the pool of veterans who could obtain private medical care at government expense

Key lawmakers from both parties scolded the VA for its secrecy and asked for more information about the plan de-velopment and impact

Editorrsquos note From the first day I reported on the Mar-a-Lago trio I have been convinced we have not heard the last of the group and their goal to privatize the VA Stand by It is on the way

Nearly half of new flu cases caused by more severe strain CDC says

CDC officials warned that flu contin-ues to spread across the US and a more severe strain influenza A H3N2 now accounts for almost half of all new cas-es Officials reported widespread flu

activity in 48 states and flu-related pediatric deaths for the season increased to 41 during the week ending Feb 16

Editorrsquos note Contrast this article with the one on page 5 Bottom linemdash-get the shot

7

JOIN TODAY

Not a member of MOAA When you join MOAA you

become part of the strongest advocate for our mili-

tarys personnel and their families The stronger our

membership is the stronger our voice becomes

Consider joining today because every voice counts

Federal watchdog initiates investigation into VA dog testing

The controversy surrounding the continued use of dogs in medical ex-periments at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities heated up again this week when the agencyrsquos inspector general announced it would initiate an

investigation into the practice Five House members urged the VA Inspector General in December to find how many VA studies continued to use dogs following the approval of a new law last year that sought to prevent them Congress passed legislation in March 2018 to prohibit the use of dogs in VA research unless the objectives of a medi-cal study could be met only by using them Even in that in-stance the new law states the study must be directly ap-proved by the VA secretary VA Secretary Robert Wilkie has claimed former Secretary David Shulkin approved nine ongoing studies using dogs before he was fired last year Shulkin though has asserted he didnrsquot The ongoing studies using dogs are located in Cleveland Milwaukee and Richmond among other locations accord-ing to information provided by Titusrsquo office USA Today previously reported the medical study in Cleveland involves severing dogsrsquo spinal cords and testing their cough reflexes Editorrsquos Note Good grief I though we had moved past this practice You do not have to sever a dogrsquos spinal cord to figure out it will inhibit their cough reflex

Air Force general apologizes for wearing up-side down ribbon rack at State of the Union

Four-star Air Force Gen Joseph Lengyel took to social media to apolo-gize for a uniform gaffe committed while attending President Donald Trumprsquos annual address before Con-gress on Tuesday night ldquoA not-so-funny thing happened on

the way to the State of the Union last nightrdquo Lengyel who serves as chief of the National Guard Bureau wrote Wednesday on his official Facebook page ldquoIf you look closely yoursquoll see that the ribbons on my uniform jacket are upside downrdquo The mistake in which Lengyel wore his highest prece-dence awards on the bottom row instead of the top had already been spotted by eagle-eyed viewers after he was briefly shown during the televised address

Lead investigator in Green Beret murder case faces charges of stolen valor The Army special agent who led the investigation of a Green Beret charged with the murder of an alleged Afghan bomb-maker now faces charges of stolen valor And both the Green Beretrsquos attorney and others in military legal circles say the charge could have a serious impact on the Armyrsquos case against Maj Mathew Golsteyn On Jan 31 Sgt 1st Class Mark A Delacruz a special agent with Army Criminal Investigation Command was

charged with falsifying promotion files and other records by listing on at least three occasions a Purple Heart award that he never received and the ldquounauthorized wearrdquo on other occasions of that ribbon the Air Assault Badge Pathfinder Badge and Combat Action Badge none of which he rated Phillip Stackhouse Golsteynrsquos attorney told Army Times that Delacruz was the investigator who interviewed key wit-nesses that led to the murder charge and was expected to be a main witness for the prosecution Colby Vokey a former Marine Corps Judge Advocate General officer and now a civilian attorney practicing mili-tary law told Army Times that the revelations that the lead investigator in Golsteynrsquos case has alleged integrity issues were ldquoshockingrdquo ldquoIt is incredibly damaging to the caserdquo Vokey said ldquoThat goes to the core of the integrity of CID To me it calls into question all of this new evidence theyrsquove brought against Matt Golsteynrdquo Editorrsquos note Hard to believe that an active duty service member would think they could get away with stolen valor acts

To save Earth someday team builds spacecraft to crash into asteroid to shove it off course

A team of scientists astronomers and engineers meets weekly in a conference room on a Howard County Md research campus and plans to save the world Keep calm and carry DART reads a poster on the wall DART ndash the Double Aster-

oid Redirection Test ndash is their plan to avert catastrophe In February 2013 a fiery meteor cut across the Siberian sky It came streaking down as fast as 40000 mph Then came a mid-air explosion a flash and boom The shock wave blew out windows across the Russian city of Chelyabinsk A factory roof collapsed More than 1000 people were hurt mostly from shattered glass Scien-tists estimate the meteor unleashed a force stronger than the atomic bomb detonated in Hiroshima They believe a meteor 8 to 10 kilometers in diameter crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago and killed off the dinosaurs The team at the Hopkins laboratory in Laurel has begun the final design and construction of the DART spacecraft About the size of a Honda Civic its scheduled for launch in summer 2021

House committee schedules hearing on measles outbreaks

A hearing on measles outbreaks af-fecting Washington New York and Texas is being planned by the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this month According to the CDC there have been 101 confirmed mea-

sles cases in the US so far this year and over 50 of those cases were recorded in one Washington county New York Texas and Washington have all seen out-breaks this year according to the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC)

8

9

Students design $125 piece to help prevent B-2 stealth bomber emergencies

One of the worldrsquos most ad-vanced bombers is flying with a plastic switch cover designed by Missouri high school students in its cockpit to prevent possible in-flight emergencies the Air Force says

The Stealth Panthers robotics team at Knob Noster High School near Whiteman Air Force Base worked with pilots and engineers last fall to create and test the 3D-printed prototype in a B-2 Spirit training simulator The covers which cost about $125 to produce are now installed in each operational B-2 at Whiteman and the sim-ulator cockpits said Capt Keenan Kunst a base spokes-man ldquoThe B-2 Spirit cockpit is equipped with state-of-the-art cutting-edge technology but is a very cramped space so something was needed to keep the pilots or other items from bumping into the switchesrdquo Kunst said ldquoThe students were able to help us find a solution that was quick afforda-ble and effectiverdquo

Air Forcersquos F-16 Viper Demonstration Team commander is the real Captain Marvel

The Air Force recently made Capt Zoe ldquoSiSrdquo Kotnik the first female pilot to command the F-16 Viper Demo Team ldquoI canrsquot believe I have this oppor-

tunityrdquo Kotnik said in a Jan 29 interview with Live Airshow TV A 2011 graduate of the Air Force Academy Kotnik earned her wings in 2013 and became an F-16C pilot Shersquos been assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan Air Base South Korea and the 55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base South Carolina where she flew mis-sions in support of Operation Noble Eagle the air defense effort designed to prevent a recurrence of 9-11-type at-tacks in America according to her official biography Dur-ing her eight year career shersquos amassed more than 1000 flight hours Kotnikrsquos mom was a private pilot and her uncle Aviation Hall of Fame pilot Charlie Hillard was the first American to win the World Aerobatics Championships

Soldiers are firing off Spider-Man-like nets from grenades to down enemy drones

Its likely that whoever US troops fight in the next war these ene-mies will be armed with drones Thats why Army researchers have invented a smart and cost-effective way to bring them down The US Army has invented a

new grenade in the 40 mm configuration that is packed with a net and specifically designed to take out enemy drones The weapon which was developed by Army engineers at the Armament Research Development and Engineer-ing Center (ARDEC) in New Jersey can be launched from

the standard grenade launchers regularly used by the US military and law enforcement The weapon can be launched from the standard grenade launchers regularly used by the US military and law en-forcement Furthermore the new net-packed grenade is a lot cheaper than surface-to-air weapons such as surface to air missiles to take out an adversarys drones A US ally once used a $3 million Patriot missile to shoot down a quadcopter drone that probably cost no more than $200 US Army Gen David Perkins last year calling attention to the need for affordable counter-drone capabilities Editorrsquos note Kind of makes one think of David slaying Goliath with a slingshot

Senate Committee Grills Navy Official Over 2017 Collisions Seeking Data to Prove Conditions Have Changed

During an Armed Services Commit-tee hearing on the Navy ship colli-sions Adm Philip Davidson the top military commander in the Pacific was questioned by senator Angus King of Maine

Davidson said ldquothere are 280 other ships that have not had collisionsrdquo which he apparently feels demonstrates the readiness of the 7th fleet King replied ldquoAirplanes are landing all over America and just because they arenrsquot all crashing doesnrsquot mean they donrsquot need a high level of maintenancerdquo he said ldquoTo tell me that isnrsquot very convincingrdquo ldquoAre you saying that there were no failures that led to these collisions because there were 280 ships that didnrsquot have collisions Is that the standard No collisionsrdquo King did admit that Congress was also responsible for the problem in that the continuing resolutions and seques-tration have in no small measure contributed to the prob-lem The Navy has said it has completed 80 percent of more than 100 reforms developed in the aftermath of the trage-dies ldquoIrsquove been quite pleased with the progress the Navyrsquos maderdquo Davidson said King has called on Navy officials to provide hard data showing they have improved conditions on their ships in the months since the two destroyers were involved in back-to-back collisions that left 17 sailors dead Editorrsquos note If the reports do not discuss plans to ad-dress the under-staffing lack of readiness training rea-sonable workloads increased ship maintenance as well as meaningful relevant mission selections they will not be well received by the committee mdash- nor should they be

Shanahan Space Force Wonrsquot Take Over Navy Army Space Assets The Navy and Army will retain control of their space as-sets as the Pentagon moves forward with establishing a new Space Force under the Air Force acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Wednesday The Navy has about 127 active duty personnel and 81 reservists assigned to its space cadre which staff the Na-val Satellite Operations Center and serve with various joint and inter-agency commands according to the service

Russian Navy has new weapon that makes targets hallucinate vomit

The Russian Navy reportedly has a new weapon that can disrupt the eye-sight of targets as well as make them hallucinate and vomit State news agency RIA Novosti re-ported that a Russian military contrac-tor has installed the weapon on two

Russian warships The weapon fires a beam similar to a strobe light that affects the targets eyesight making it more difficult for them to aim at night During testing volunteers reportedly used rifles and guns to shoot targets that were protected by the weapon The volunteers reported having trouble aiming because they couldnt see Additionally about half of the volunteers said they felt dizzy nauseous and disoriented About 20 percent of the volunteers reported experiencing hallucinations

The Navy admits that its secretive new $760 million aircraft carrier defense system is a total failure

The US Navy has shed light on a pre-viously highly classified project meant to protect aircraft carriers from the grave and widespread threat of torpedos and its been a massive failure Virtually every navy the US might find

itself at war against can field torpedos or underwater self-propelled bombs that have been sinking warships for more than 100 years US Navy aircraft carriers represent technological mar-vels as theyre floating airports driven by nuclear reactions but after years of secretive tests the US has given up on a program to meet the threat The US Navy has cancelled its Anti-Torpedo Defensive System project and will remove the systems from five air-craft carriers that actually have them installed the Pen-tagons Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation re-vealed in a report on Tuesday In September 2018 the Navy suspended its efforts to develop the [surface ship torpedo defense] system The Navy plans to restore all carriers to their normal configura-tions during maintenance availabilities over the next four years the report reads This leaves the US Navys surface ships with almost no defense against a submarines primary anti-surface weap-on at a time when the service warns that Russia and Chi-nas submarine fleet have rapidly grown to pose a major threat to US ships At the end of the Cold War the US turned away from anti-submarine warfare towards a fight against surface ships But now Russia China and Iran reportedly have super-cavitating torpedoes or torpedoes that form a bub-ble of air around themselves as they jet through the water at hundreds of miles an hour The new class of speedy torpedoes cant be guided but can fire straight towards US Navy carriers that have little chance of detecting them Torpedoes dont collide directly into a ship but rather use

an explosion to create an air bubble under the ship and potentially bend or break the bow sinking the ship Other Russian torpedos have a range of 12 miles and can zig zag to beat countermeasures when closing in on a ship The US has spent $760 million on the failed system The War Zone reported Editorrsquos Note Gadzooks This is a real eyebrow raiser

The Navys top officer admitted the much-hyped electromagnetic railgun is a big mess

Less than a year after declaring the US Navy fully invested in the services much-hyped electro-magnetic railgun Chief of Naval Operations Adm John Richardson is apparently experiencing some

buyers remorse over the $500 million superguns troubled development Appearing before an audience at the Atlantic Council Richardson characterized the decade-old weapons system mdash capable of accelerating a projectile to hypersonic speeds but stuck in research and development limbo with-out a ship-board tactical demonstrator mdash as the case study that would say This is how innovation maybe shouldnt happen Weve learned a lot [from the project] and the engineer-ing of building something like that that can handle that much electromagnetic energy and not just explode is chal-lenging Richardson said per Business Insider So were going to continue after this mdash were going to install this thing were going to continue to develop it test it A year ago Richardson attempted to assure lawmakers that as Militarycom put it death of the program was greatly exaggerated Chinas Electromagnetic Railgun Is apparently already roaming the high seas When taken with the additional $20 million allocated in the 2019 NDAA for the Armys distinct railgun efforts this suggests that the Pentagon hasnt totally given up hope of fielding the supergun despite existing obstacles Editorrsquos Note Hmm No defense against torpedoes and no railgun to match Chinarsquos Kinda worrisome

10

LUNCHEON Wednesday May 1st 2019

diamsCall 642-0497diams Florida Room Atrium

North Campus SCC Reservations no later than 6 pm

Sunday Apr 28th 2019 Please give full names of members and guests total num-ber attending Cost is $1500 payable at the door in cash or check Social hour begins at 1100 am Business meeting at 1115 followed by lunch and a speaker Remember if you make a reservation and do not attend you are expected to pay Bring payment to next meeting or send check to

Military Officers Association of America Post Office Box 5693 Sun City Center FL 33571-5693

11

Veterans pose challenges to civilian primary care providers

With fewer than half of US military veterans receiving care in the De-partment of Veterans Affairs (VA) system primary care physicians out-side the VA may have great uncer-tainty about how best to address veterans needs

A study in Family Practice found that primary care provid-ers in the civilian sector may be unsure about how to care for veterans have limited or inconsistent knowledge of support services and military culture and do not always understand veterans unique health care needs Continuity of care problems may also arise because some veterans receive care from both civilian and VA facilities research-ers said Its no small culture As of 2015 some 20 million veter-ans lived in the United States comprising approximately 6 percent of the total population the authors wrote Yet many service members are not eligible for benefits from the VA or Department of Defense they added which necessitates these individuals be seen in civilian health care settings And veterans living in rural areas distant from VA facilities also frequently use non-VA health care providers Ultimately the authors wrote further research is needed to understand how screening and follow-up care for veter-an patients is best implemented into primary care settings

How 3D printers are cutting down surgery times and helping vets get mobility back at VA hospitals

Some doctors use printers to produce patient records or refer-rals Others use them to replicate human organs Thatrsquos what Dr Beth Ripley is doing at the VA Puget Sound

Health Care System in Washington Granted replicas are more plastic than tissue and donrsquot function like the real thing mdash at least not yet But in a grow-ing number of VA hospitals using 3D printing technology life-size replicas of human anatomy are helping surgeons cut down on operating times by as much as two hours low-ering costs and potentially helping patients heal faster ldquoOne of the magical things about 3D printing hellip is that you can create these really complex structures that you could never make using traditional manufacturingrdquo said Ripley who chairs the VArsquos Veterans Health Administration 3D Printing Advisory Committee Radiologists like her can take a CT scan of a veteranrsquos heart for example then print a nearly exact copy of its faulty valve in anywhere from 30 minutes to 30 hours for the surgeons to study The same goes for tumorous kid-neys or pelvises ldquo[Surgeons] can look at it and figure out exactly what their plan is before they ever go into the surgeryrdquo said Rip-ley 3D printing capability started in three of the VArsquos 172 hospitals in 2017 and has since grown to 20 with 10 more health care facilities working on implementation according to the VA

lsquoDiet drugsrsquo suppress mosquitoesrsquo thirst for blood

A hungry mosquito is at best a nui-sance at worst it is a transmitter of deadly diseases Now researchers have discovered a way to stop mosquitoes biting mdash by using human lsquodietrsquo drugs to trick them into feeling full The scientists suggest

that the drugs could one day be used to control the spread of diseases ldquoItrsquos an excellent studyrdquo says Clare Strode a mosquito biologist at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk UK Therersquos a long way to go before the method can be used in the wild she says but ldquoas a proof of principle itrsquos very promisingrdquo Some human appetite-suppressant drugs already target the NPY receptors so Vosshall decided to take a ldquocompletely zanyrdquo approach feed these drugs to mosqui-toes and see what happens The method worked mosquitoes that fed on a solution containing NPY-activating drugs were much less likely to approach a human-scented lsquolurersquo than were the control group and their appetites remained suppressed for two days However the most potent compound the team identified needs to be administered at a very high concentration to affect the mosquitoesrsquo behavior which would make it pro-hibitively expensive to deploy in the field Vosshall hopes to partner with medicinal chemists to tweak the chemistry and create a more powerful molecule

Microbots that detect C difficile toxins developed in Hong Kong

Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong have created fluorescent microbots that react to the presence of Clostridium difficile toxins in stool samples The technique allows accurate detection of the toxins within 15 minutes and may also have applications in detecting other bacteri-

al diseases the researchers said Editorrsquos note This is significant news as Clostridium dif-ficile is an opportunistic pathogen infecting the colon of patients following antibiotic treatment C difficile produces two toxins which damage intestinal cells and cause inflam-mation in the gut Clostridium difficile or C diff for short is a very common bacteria found in water air soil and many other environments However it is becoming notorious as a cause of infections contracted in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing-homes It can cause severe diar-rhea and cramping as well as inflammation of the colon ndash and in some instances it can be life-threatening Older adults in health care facilities are most at risk es-pecially if theyrsquore taking antibiotics Thatrsquos because the hu-man body contains thousands of different types of bacteria -- some good some bad If the antibiotics kill enough healthy bacteria the ones that cause C diff can grow un-checked and make you sick This test will allow for imme-diate identification and treatment of the C diff toxins Probi-otics may be prescribed orally in an attempt to restore any imbalance in the normal

The US Air Force Has Won Control of the Space Force

Detailed planning for the proposed Space Force is expected to be handed over soon to the US Air Force a sign that Pentagon lead-ers mdash many of whom opposed the notion of consolidating military space operations in a new organization mdash have found a version that they can support

In coming weeks Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Sha-nahan is expected to sign a memo asking Air Force Secre-tary Heather Wilson to stand up a team that will figure out the bureaucratic nuts and bolts of the new space organiza-tion according to a draft of the memo being circulated by top administration and military officials

SECNAV to the Navy You got the money so fix yourselves Fast

After years of being overworked and underfunded Secretary of the Navy Richard V Spencer says Con-gress gave the service enough cash to remedy its readiness woes and

now itrsquos time to ldquoincrease the velocity of changerdquo ldquoThe two-year budget has enabled us to set the environ-ment for changerdquo Spencer told a packed auditorium at the Surface Navy Associationrsquos annual convention on Wednes-day ldquoWe have the money ladies and gentlemen but one thing that money canrsquot buy is time and we donrsquot have time to do business as usualrdquo Spencer called on the surface sailors and their officers gathered in Arlington Virginia to ldquodeliver the Navy the na-tion needs with a true sense of urgency And I mean thatrdquo Although he didnrsquot utter the names of the guided-missile destroyers Fitzgerald and John S McCain and the 17 sail-ors killed in a pair of 2017 collisions with commercial ves-sels in the 7th Fleetrsquos area of operations Spencer alluded to his somber speech at last yearrsquos confab when he re-minded the Navy about the times it had ldquofallen shortrdquo in an era punctuated by a high tempo of operations and ldquodiminishing resourcesrdquo ldquoOur people were not receiving the training leadership and opportunities they needed to be effectiverdquo Spencer said ldquoThe civilian leaders of the military should be the cir-cuit breakers when we are being asked to do more with less and up-tempo increasedhellip Something has to give and there was no circuit breaker Thatrsquos all Irsquom going to sayldquo ldquoThis study is already being used to improve the manning on our ships including the addition of personnel to our (guided-missile destroyers) and wersquore planning on intro-ducing staffing changes on all other classes of ships in the near future Spencer said Editorrsquos note It only took 17 dead sailors to get the atten-tion of SECNAV and the Navy leaders

Supreme Court Military retirees can be court-martialed for crimes committed after service The US Supreme Court has upheld the Defense De-partments authority to prosecute retired service members for crimes they commit even after retirement

The court on Tuesday chose not to hear the case of a retired Marine who was court-martialed for a sexual as-sault he committed three months after leaving the service in August 2015 By not accepting the case Larrabee v the United States the court upheld the

status quo that military retirees are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice The denial of Larrabees petition marks the high courts second rebuff in a year of a case involving a military retiree accused of non-military crimes in retirement The reasoning the government argues is that retirement is simply a change of military status and retired personnel are subject to recall should the need arise Retired Maj Gen Charles Dunlap former deputy judge advocate general of the Air Force added that the very act of receiving retired pay means that retired personnel are choosing to keep a relationship with the military and accept all that goes with the choice not to terminate their commis-sion or request a discharge Editorrsquos note This one is probably going to be appealed

Navy Promised Changes After Deadly Accidents but Many Within Doubt Itrsquos Delivering on Them

Adm Philip Davidson responsible for making sure that the Navyrsquos ships were fully staffed recently embarked on a speaking tour He was responsible to make sure that sailors were adequately trained and equipped and ready for

combat He had recently authored a public report laying out dozens of specific weaknesses that the Navy had begun fixing One of Davidsonrsquos stops in November 2017 was in San Diego and inside the basersquos movie theater he addressed hundreds of concerned commanders and officers He was met with a series of tough questions including a particular-ly sensitive one If the commanders believed their ships were not ready could they as the Navy had promised ac-tually push back on orders to sail Davidson according to an admiral inside the theater re-sponded with anger ldquoIf you canrsquot take your ships to sea and accomplish the mission with the resources you haverdquo he said ldquothen wersquoll find someone who willrdquo The response roiled the audience and word of it quickly spread among Navy officers across the globe Editorrsquos note And therein lies the underlying problem That was a horrible clueless response

After Court Ruling Heres Whats Next for Women and the Draft A federal judges decision Friday that the law requiring men -- but not women -- to register for a US military draft is unconstitutional has no immediate impact on women or the US Selective Service System But it does revive debate about whether the country needs a military draft system and if so whether all 18-year-olds regardless of gender should be required to register

12

13

Sunken aircraft carrier Hornet mdash best known for Doolittle Raid mdash located miles below the waves

The research vessel Petrel crew members are no strangers to historic under-water archaeological discov-eries having located sunken World War II aircraft carriers destroyers and cruisers scattered across the floor of

the vast Pacific Ocean Originally championed by deceased Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen mdash a philanthropist who also owned the Seattle Seahawks mdash the Petrel crew found a new wreck about 33 miles below the South Pacificrsquos surface the Yorktown-class flattop Hornet (CV-8) Finding the carrier famous for launching the harrowing April 18 1942 Doolittle bombing raid on Tokyo mdash the first American air raid on the Japanese homeland since entering the war ― was the Pet-relrsquos first mission of 2019 one that was documented and can be viewed as part of a two-part series on CBS Months after launching the Doolittle Raid and subsequently join-ing in a decisive naval victory at Midway the Hornet sailed toward the hotly contested Solomon Islands mdash notably Guadalcanal mdash to provide air cover for US ground forces mired in a seesaw cam-paign Learning that a large force of Imperial Japanese Navy ships were approaching the Hornet and the aircraft carrier Enterprise maneuvered to attack On Oct 26 1942 the Battle of Santa Cruz Island began Aircraft from both navies pounded opposing ships The Hornet came under a coordinated attack by Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes Within 10 minutes the carrier was dead in the water all power and communications disrupted Two bombers damaged by anti-aircraft fire then slammed into the flattop one into the carrierrsquos island and the other into the its port side Thirty-two minutes after the last bomb detonated on the carrierrsquos flight deck Capt Charles P Mason gave the ldquoabandon shiprdquo order

Click here for full details including photos of the sinking of this historical ship

Museum officials Vandals try to burn a Confederate statue but it was the wrong General Lee

CHARLOTTE NC (Tribune News Ser-vice) mdash A marble statue memorializing the founder of the US Army Airborne was set on fire Thursday in North Carolina and museum officials believe it happened be-cause vandals mistook it for a Confederate memorial according to the Dunn Daily

Record and other media outlets Airborne founder Maj Gen William C Lee shares the last name of Confederate Gen Robert E Lee but they are unrelated men who served different armies in different wars during different centu-ries Still officials at the William C Lee Airborne Museum in Dunn believe someone mistook the two for the same person according to TV station WNCN ldquoThis is not a Civil War museumrdquo curator Mark Johnson told WNCN ldquoThis is General William C Lee from United States Army Airborne from World War II so I was hurt and surprised that some-

body would actually do thisrdquo The museum posted a terse note about the vandalism on Face-book page Feb 15 referring to the culprit as ldquosome jerk punkrdquo ldquoSomeone poured a flammable liquid over the white marble stat-ue of Lee and set it on fire The local fire department put out the flames but the damage is donerdquo said the post Editorrsquos note Does the statue really resemble a confederate sol-dier That idiot really has studied history

He was one of the first Now the last A Navajo code talker remembers Iwo Jima By CARL PRINE | The San Diego Union-Tribune

Thomas Begay stared at the wreath commemorating the scores of dead from that World War II battle 73 years ago but his mind wasnrsquot fully on the spectacle He was thinking about fellow Navajo

code talker Teddy Draper Sr who died Dec 14 at 96 His death came nine days after fellow Arizonan George B Willie Sr passed He was 92 ldquoThere were 33 of us assigned as Navajo code talkers but now there are no more Theyrsquove diedrdquo said Begay 92 who is believed to be the last surviving member of the 5th Marine Divisionrsquos famed bilingual radio unit on Iwo Jima Editorrsquos note To read Thomas Begayrsquos Iwo Jima story click Navajo

Code story Another interesting WWII story

Purple Heart vets will get disability claims moved quicker

Veterans who earned a Purple Heart during their military service will now have their veter-ans disability claims moved ahead of other requests Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie announced

ldquoThose who hold the Purple Heart the recognition of wounds taken in battle will now receive priority consideration when it comes to claims he told members of the House Appropriations Committee The new policy will go into effect on April 1 The move follows existing department rules which give priority classification to Purple Heart veterans who request medical ap-pointments at VA hospitals Those veterans are also exempt from all co-payments for their medical care But the move raised concerns among some advocates who not-ed that many serious wounds of war like post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury arenrsquot often recognized with the military med-al

Florida Council of Chapters Communiqueacute

February 2019 Issue

See what the other Chapters are doing The Florida Coun-

cil of Chapterrsquos newsletter the ldquoCommuniqueacuterdquo can be ac-

cessed by clicking on the link below After you click the

link and then click Allow it may take a minute or so for the

newsletter to pop up It is worth the wait

Apr2014pdfhttpwwwmoaaflorgcommunique

EditormdashPolly Parks Send articles and photos to

Pollly Parks pparksigcorg

US doctors overprescribed deadly drug fentanyl to patients

An investigation carried out by experts from Johns Hopkins University said that of the thousands of patients who had been pre-scribed fentanyl between a third and half of them should never have received the drug One doctor in five did not know that fenta-nyl was only supposed to be used in certain

types of cancer cases the researchers found As a result it has been wrongly prescribed for far less serious conditions like back pain or chronic headaches The drug can kill you said one of the authors of the report Caleb Alexander co-director at the Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness at Johns Hopkins Theres no question that individuals have died from inap-propriate prescribing of these products he said The whole point of this program was to prevent exactly the use that commonly occurs he said of fentanyl which has become the deadliest drug in an epidemic that killed 70000 people in the United States in 2017 Editorrsquos note Fentanyl should only be used by anesthesi-ologists when administering a general anesthesia It is a powerful respiratory depressant and when used for general anesthesia the patients are intubated and hooked up to an anesthesia machine that mechanically breathes for them Turn the machine off and the patient ceases to breath Although it is used for certain outpatient cancer patients under strict controls it should not be used as a substitute for opioids It is 100 times stronger than morphine I spent a yearrsquos rotation on general anesthesia as part of my sur-gery training and I cannot believe physicians are using it on an outpatient basis If a doctor prescribes fentanyl for you you should immediately leave their office and seek care elsewhere

Coast Guard finally gets new polar icebreaker FAIRBANKS Alaskamdash A spending bill approved by Congress that kept the federal government open included a project dear to the Alaska congressional

delegation a new polar icebreaker The spending bill includes $655 million for de-signing and building the icebreaker for the Coast Guard Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported The bill includes $20 million for materials to eventually build a second icebreaker and $740 million for new cutters including six to be based in Alaska The measure also provides $53 million for cut-ter support facilities in the state with $22 million for Kodiak and $31 million to Seward US Sen Lisa Murkowski an Alaska Republi-can called the bill a significant step in the right direction toward an icebreaker fleet Congress passed the bill on Feb 14 and Presi-

dent Trump signed it into law securing govern-ment funding through Sept 30 House Senate Democrats unveil Medicare buy-in proposal

A group of House and Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would permit people ages 50 and older to buy Medicare plans and obtain the same cost-sharing sub-sidies and tax credits offered

through Affordable Care Act exchanges Supporters of the measure said the legislation is a more acceptable and less disruptive alternative to proposals that would open Medi-care to everyone It would be an incremental step to expand health cover-age beyond Obamacares gains that offers an alternative to the ambitious restructuring progressives envision in their push for Medicare for All The sponsors said the plan will pay for itself with premi-ums from the new enrollees And more of the money col-lected would pay for patient care because of the relative lack of overhead and profit requirements in Medicare com-pared to the private insurance market

A soldier was reunited with his battered helmet 6 months after it saved his life during an insider attack

Staff Sgt Steven McQueen still cant believe how quickly he got to his feet after a bullet from an enemy rifle struck him in the back of his helmet during an insider attack in Afghanistan last year Two gunmen opened fire on

McQueen and fellow soldiers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade from a distance of 20 feet during the Sept 3 shooting The bullet tore a large hole in the ballistic material but the Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) stopped the round as it was designed to do

Monthly Member and Board Meetings

Luncheon Wednesday May 1st 2019 1100 am

Florida Room

Board Meeting Wednesday May 8th 2019

1000 ammdashTrinity Baptist Church

Membership Committee Mtg Club Renaissance

3rd Wednesday May 15th 2019

14

MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

MOAA The SCC Chapter of The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)

membership is granted to Army Navy Marines Air Force Coast Guard National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Public Health the National Guard or

Reserve components both active or retired and former officers and Warrant Of-

ficers who were separated under acceptable conditions

MISSION The mission of Sun City Center FL chapter shall be to promote the pur-

poses and objectives of the Military Officers Association of America foster frater-

nal relation among retired active duty and former officers of active duty retired

and reserve components personnel of the uniformed services and their depend-

ents and survivors provide useful services for members and their dependents

and survivors and serve the community and the nation

MEETINGS A meeting is held monthly (except JulyAugust) in the Atrium build-

ing in the Florida room at 1100 am and includes lunch and a guest speaker

ACTIVITIES Coordinate and sponsor Annual Memorial Day ceremony provide

awards and honorariums to outstanding JROTC Cadets contributed to Operation

Warm Heart and Helping Hand contribute to My Warriors Place provide funds for

MOAA scholarships and participate in numerous community activities

Additional information can be obtained by calling 813-642-0801 or e-mailing

dkepleytampabayrrcom You can also contact us by mail at Frank Kepley 815

Freedom Plaza Circle Apt 104 Sun City Center Fl 33573

15

Chapter 5ndashStar Level of Excellence Award

Newsletter 5-Star Communications Award

Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America PO Box 5693 Sun City Center FL 33571-5693

Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident

The sponsors that appear in this publication do not reflect an endorsement by MOAA or this affiliate

The Sun City Center FL MOAA Newsletter is published by the Sun City Center Chapter which is an affiliate of

the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) MOAA and its affiliated chapters and councils are non-

partisan

Opinions presented herein are those of the individual and not necessarily of the Chapter Commercial solicita-tion of members using membership rolls andor rosters is prohibited Some articles may be taken from MOAA and DoD publications The Chapter is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Codes

16

Veterans groups have earned significant legislative wins for their causes over the last few years

With the major battles over they plan to dedicate themselves in 2019 to implementing these hard-fought bills and find-ing solutions for problems that have arisen with some of their provisions

These 2019 legislative priorities include taking care of ldquoblue waterrdquo veterans ensuring that Congress implements the VA Mission Act improving the Department of Veterans Affairsrsquo ability to accommodate the conditions of the Forever GI Bill restarting the conversation about the toxic effects of burn pits and other organization-specific goals

Then therersquos the VA Mission Act which Congress passed in summer 2018 It promised expanded health care options for veterans though it did draw the ire of those who believed President Donald Trump was overreaching his authority in an effort to privatize VA health care

Carlos Fuentes Veterans of Foreign Warsrsquo national legislative service director said the VFW will be monitoring how well that legislation is enacted and enforced

ldquoWe all worked very closely with Congress and the VA to craft the VA Mission Actrdquo he said ldquoCongress will have to keep a close eye on implementation We will do the samerdquo

Another issue that Fuentes said has the VFW rsquos attention is the plight of ldquoblue waterrdquo Navy veterans In early 2018 the House passed a bill giving disability benefits to Vietnam veterans exposed to toxic Agent Orange chemicals that has yet to be ratified into law due to roadblocks in the Senate

Vets groups vow to pressure Congress into following through on hard-won legislation

17

Tina Patch addresses MOAA on CBD products Tina Patch creator of a company called MJ Natural Resources was the featured speaker at the April 3rd Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) luncheon held in the Florida Room at the North Side Atrium Tina has a background in Accounting HR IT Energy and Business Management She has a BAS degree in Management amp Organizational Leadership Tina is cur-rently in an MBA program at ENMU She is also a regis-tered tax preparer and Quick Books trainer Originally from New York Tina resides in the Tampa Bay area - which she loves During her time at her corporate job it became clear that a beloved family member was abusing Opioid pills- which subsequently led to Heroin use Having strug-gled through the anger disappointment and then fear - Tina went on a mission to find the help that this family member needed After it became apparent that there were few resources for optimal treatment Tina wanted to tackle that issue head on Then The CATE Founda-tion was created Tina is dedicated to the mission of - better treatment can mean a better outcome She is also a champion to those who truly want to overcome this horrible epidem-ic She is known as a problem solver in her career and she anticipates the challenge that lies ahead MJ Natu-ral Resources which educates and sells THC free me-dicinal hemp derived CBD products ldquoOur mission is to keep our price to consumers low but our quality high We believe in EDUCATING our consumers NOT just selling a product Her presentation was very educational regarding CBD products their derivation and what to look for from the manufacturers when anticipating purchasing them She stressed that their products are totally free of THS the ingredient that provides the mari-juana ldquohighrdquo

2

MEMBERSHIP CORNER

The Membership Committee Chair is providing the following to update the Chapter membership regarding our Chapter LOE amp MOAA rewards Also this article will list new Chapter mem-bers mdash 193 Chapter members mdash 129 LIFE members mdash 27 PREMIUM members mdash 15 BASIC members mdash 22 non-MOAA members New Chapter member(s) last month CPT Lloyd Grable USA (Fr) Mrs Harriet Jordan (Auxillary) COL Eunice Patxot USA (Ret) REMINDER The Chapter reimburses $100 to members up-grading to LIFE when LIFE certificate is presented to the Treasurer

MOAA ACTION SITE

I have created this box to direct members to the

online MOAA lsquoTake Actionrsquo site in order to assist

MOAA in achieving their legislative goals

Click here and select the issue(s) you would like to

have MOAA discuss with your representatives

Fill in the form and click submit MOAA will send

it to your representatives You can add your own

comments if you wish

APRIL 2019 LUNCHEON

Tina Patch

Tina PatchmdashBenny Blackshire


3

David J Gauthier



(813) 634-9500 (813)642-8112-Fax






4


P 813-633-7333 F 813-633-61-20














PublisherEditor



MOAA 5 Star










5

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS











6



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17


3

David J Gauthier



(813) 634-9500 (813)642-8112-Fax






4


P 813-633-7333 F 813-633-61-20














PublisherEditor



MOAA 5 Star










5

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS











6



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

David J Gauthier



(813) 634-9500 (813)642-8112-Fax






4


P 813-633-7333 F 813-633-61-20














PublisherEditor



MOAA 5 Star










5

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS











6



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17









PublisherEditor



MOAA 5 Star










5

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS











6



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS











6



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17



























7

JOIN TODAY




















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17















8

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

9

























10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17











10






11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

11


























12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17














12

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

13

















February 2019 Issue






















Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17














Florida Room





14






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17






















15




Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17


Place Stamp

Here

Or Current Resident




partisan


16









17

17

Documents

MILITARY OFFICERS CALL Sun City Center Chapter · MILITARY OFFICERS CALL Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America P. O. Box 5693, Sun City Center, FL. 33571